This image taken over 2 years (winter 2006 - winter 2007) is composed of 7 minutes over 26 hours worth of RGB and H-alpha data, the H-alpha component being about 7 and a half hours worth.

Noel would have spent at least the same amount of time (if not a bit more) in processing the data. For me, this is another definitive image and I won't be going back for more data at this focal length.

Well i think his is why i love space, considering at the time of the image most of those stars and particles wont exist by the time we get to them? I think its just amazing HOW BIG everything is, amazing image to my eyes! I m glad i did some astophysics in highschool

"speacheless so to speak" how big is the original "combined" picture the one that was upploaded on imageshack. I'm going to keep this one on my computer if its ok?

The original is a 6 megapixel image. You're welcome to keep the Image Shack version on your computer Greg

thank you!

did u attach a camera to the telescop for this image, because that is what i have heard that they do, i have no idea how to take such an image. But i seen some out there, i'm vary impatiente when it comes to waiting but i sure do enjoy this

Another stunner. I don't remember seeing an image quite like this before so forgive me if I'm asking another dumb question but I'm assuming that the tiny red "splodges" are H-alpha emission nebulae local to M31 itself. That seems to fit with their being strongly associated with the opaque dust and gas "lanes". Any thoughts?

Not a dumb question at all - and that's exactly what they are! Just like when you look up at our own Milky Way and you see the North America/Pelican nebulae, here are the Andromeda galaxy equivalents - amazing isn't it. Just as amazing [IMO] are the globular clusters you can see in the rings - same thing again - just as you see globs in our Milky Way, so you see them in another galaxy. I think M31 is totally amazing, and would like to image this at a much higher image scale (will then need to mosaic